Broadway residents up in arms over broadband poles

Parker Place residents, in the Cotswold village of Broadway, have been collecting signatures in opposition to proposed plans for broadband poles to be erected on their road and elsewhere in the village, by Full Fibre Ltd.

David Owen, a resident of Parker Place, called the plans "draconian".

He said: "Broadway residents have been experiencing anger and disruption over this draconian plan to  install old wooden telegraph poles coated with wet tar and bitumen outside the bedroom windows of many homes and blocking access to pathways.

"This is very important due to the wrongful imposition of these dirty wooden poles,

"Residents of Broadway will not only have their say but will also utilise the Gov.uk Neighbourhood Planning process."

The opposition from neighbours has prompted a response from Full Fibre Ltd, which said it had changed its build design for the village.

A spokesperson said: "We are aware that this upgrade can bring a level of disruption and change, and to this end, we write out to residents to ensure they have the opportunity to influence our build.

"We have made amendments to our build design for Broadway as a result of this, and we will ensure that we put the necessary infrastructure in place with the least disruption possible.

"This includes ensuring that no pathways or windows are blocked. We factor in all reasonable input from residents whilst remaining within the necessary engineering parameters.

"We endeavour to design our build with the minimum impact on the local area and we have in no way acted illegally: we have notified both the LPA and AONB in line with legal requirements, and Permitted Development activities are not impacted by Neighbourhood Plans.

"It is very much the case that poles form a significant part of UK infrastructure and that most people in the UK are served by poles - up to 80 per cent in many areas."